Tottenham Goalkeeper Feels The Club Are Stronger After Gareth Bale Exit

Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel believes the club have coped well in the face of Gareth Bale’s exit to Real Madrid this summer, hailing his side’s work in the transfer market in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.

Bale eventually left Spurs after an entire summer of speculation, making a world-record £85m move to the Bernabeu, and manager Andre Villas-Boas took full advantage of the funds available to him by investing heavily in new players for his squad.

This has seen some big names arrive at White Hart Lane during pre-season, including the likes of Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela, and Friedel believes the squad is looking stronger overall this year than it did last season, despite the loss of such a key player in Bale.

Many have echoed this belief that Tottenham now look like stronger title contenders this season, particularly after making a fine start with four wins out of their first five games, though they face a challenging fixture at home to Chelsea this weekend.

“It’s not always that a manager and a board can turn what could have been a massive negative, losing someone like Gareth Bale, into a massive positive,” the American said.

“Losing a player like Gareth Bale would normally make your squad weaker, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think our squad is stronger for it.”

Friedel joined Spurs from Aston Villa in 2011 and initially impressed as the club’s first choice, though he has since fallen behind in the pecking order to talented French international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.